Service providers and device manufacturers are continually challenged to deliver value and convenience to consumers by, for example, providing compelling network services and advancing the underlying technologies. As a result, service providers and device manufacturers now offer a growing array of services such as social networking, mobile messaging, location tracking, navigation, online gaming, and the like that have become popular among users. Many of these services traditionally rely on frequent updates or status checks over a communication network. These frequent updates or status checks, however, can consume significant resources and stress the power management systems of participating devices, particularly in mobile environments where energy sources (e.g., batteries) are limited in capacity.